At least 10 Chinese cities have tightened their property
policies in the past month as local governments face pressure to
meet annual home-price targets, according to Centaline Property
Agency Ltd., the nation’s biggest real estate brokerage. Three
of China’s four major cities -- Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou
-- raised minimum down-payment requirements for second-home
mortgages to 70 percent from 60 percent.

The city of Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong province led
gains, with prices rising 3.51 percent from October, according
to today’s SouFun data. The biggest decline was in Baoding, a
city in northern Hebei province, where prices dropped 2.94
percent.

Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man, said his companies have
slowed land purchases in Hong Kong and China as prices have
escalated.

“Land prices in Hong Kong are high, and already showing
signs of an unhealthy situation,” Li said, according to a
statement from Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd., his flagship developer
on Nov. 28. “Land prices in China have surged, and we’re unable
to win auctions for land.”